The Open Blue Green Cotes d`Armor Bretagne has, since its inception in 2007, blossomed into a hugely successful event on the European Challenge Tour with every right to be measured as a model for success.
Thanks to robust partnerships with the French Golf Federation, the region of Bretagne and title sponsor Blue Green, the tournament creates mutually beneficial rewards for everyone involved in staging the €200,000 event at the outstanding Golf Blue Green de Pléneuf Val André.
Gery Watine, a past Challenge and Senior Tour champion who played on The European Tour throughout the golden era of Seve, Faldo, Olazábal and Langer in the 1980s, is now a Board Member of Blue Green who also devised and now oversees the company’s golf teaching programme.
Blue Green specialise in golf club management, sending their expert staff – from the golf professional to the clubhouse manager – to run each of the 51 French courses which make up its impressive portfolio.
Watine is the first man to highlight the successful partnership at the heart of the Open Blue Green Cotes d`Armor Bretagne and he hopes the model for success can continue into the future.
“It is a very good relationship for us and we are happy with it,” said Watine, who represented France in the World Cup and Alfred Dunhill Cup in the 1980s and won twice on the Challenge Tour in his homeland in 1992, before landing the Italian Seniors Open in 2005.
“We want to help the young French professionals as much as we can and sponsoring a Challenge Tour tournament in France gives a lot of the best young professionals in the country a very high platform to play on and to test themselves against players from all around the world.
“We also a lot of very good players at our Blue Green Golf Clubs who are playing to a very high level in the amateur game. We want those players to see these young professionals and how they play, how they practice and how they prepare for a tournament. I played on tour for many years and I know what it takes to make it there and this is a good way to show the young kids how much dedication and hard work it takes to succeed.
“So the Challenge Tour is a good fit for us – this tournament is really a big partnership between the Challenge Tour, the French Golf Federation, the town of Pléneuf, the region of Bretagne, and Blue Green: it is a great relationship for us.”
Blue Green’s day-to-day business is playing a positive role throughout French Golf. The company philosophy is driven by encouraging new players to take up the sport, and it is enjoying a good level of success.
“We are managing 51 Golf courses across France, and have just over 22,000 members who can access all 51 courses,” Watine explains.
“Most of the courses are owned by the town or the region and we come in and manage the course, so we have a contract the owners and pay a fee every year to them and then we supply all of the staff, from the professionals to the people who manage and run the clubs.
“All of our professionals work to the same programme for golfers of every level and it is working well. Every year we are averaging 6000 new players, and 60 percent of those stay with us and take up membership with us.
“We think our beginner’s programme is very good value and it has to be because we want people to stay with us. During your first year as a student with us, you will receive 43 hours of lessons and those lessons are tailored to the players’ ability.
“For €89 per month, you receive a half set of golf clubs, lessons, education and membership of the club. We think the system works well. We are trying to make the game accessible to as many people as possible. It is more affordable than ever.”
